Slowly Falling
by Mudheart7567
Summary: After the Doctor leaves Rose and the Metacrisis Doctor behind in the parallel universe, Rose is struggling to come to terms with the fact that this new 'Doctor' is the same man she once knew. Meanwhile the Metacrisis Doctor just wants Rose to see that he's still the Doctor, even with his new part human body.
1. Chapter 1

Rose awoke with a choked sob, tears running down her cheeks and dampening her pillow. It wasn't the first time she'd woken in tears, though it was getting far worse as of late. Swallowing thickly she slowly sat up, swiping the back of her hands underneath her stinging eyes and taking deep breaths in an effort to gain composure. There was hardly any point to it as more fresh, hot tears spilled over and fell soundlessly onto the duvet. She had woken like this almost every night since that day _he_ left her. Again. Only this time he had left her with his duplicate, as if that made the harsh sting of abandonment hurt any less. Her heart ached at the thought of him and she bit her lip, almost hard enough to draw blood. The physical pain seemed to help, though it paled in comparison to the pain she felt in her heart and mind.

 _Pull yourself together, Rose,_ she thought, retrieving a tissue from the box on her night stand and thoroughly wiping her eyes and cheeks before blowing her nose. That was easier said than done- after all she had _loved_ him so very much- but she thought she was doing her very best considering the circumstances. _He's not coming back and it's time you moved on with your life._ But oh, how she longed to be on the T.A.R.D.I.S. with _her_ Doctor, running throughout all of time and space saving the day and having such grand adventures.

Thinking back on all they had been through just made her hurt worse.

 _Time to get up and get a glass of water, I think_. She knew that she wasn't going to get back to sleep any time soon, and she really didn't want to. If she fell back asleep that same dream of her Doctor leaving her behind on that stupid beach would plague her again. No. It was better to get up now and tire herself out, and hopefully exhaustion would keep the dreams away. Pulling back the covers with a sigh, Rose slid out of bed and slipped on a pair of soft pink slippers. Looking down at her clock told her that it was just after two in the morning. It was a bit chilly and so she slid on a dressing gown and tied it at the waist before leaving her room and padding silently downstairs to the kitchen.

The light hum of the fridge filled her ears as she turned on the kitchen light, reminding her of the hum of the T.A.R.D.I.S., though she sounded far more beautiful. Rose gave a weak smile at the thought of the sentient old time ship, missing her almost as much as she missed the Doctor. The fridge gave a random loud pop as it settled, startling her from her thoughts. Rubbing at her sore eyes briefly, she walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a glass before filling it with water from the tap. She gulped the water down greedily, not realising how parched she was, and then refilled the glass and began to sip more slowly.

Once finished she placed the glass down and leaned back against the black marble countertop, counting the floor tiles as she wondered what she should do next. _Could watch a movie or read a book,_ her brain supplied helpfully, but she didn't really feel like doing either of those things. She felt restless, her feet itching to run. To where? She didn't know, and supposed it didn't matter. It was a feeling she hated, wanting desperately to do something but not having the motivation for anything more than standing around moping. It was almost like how she had felt before she met the Doctor. Same meaningless existence, day in and day out. Wake up, eat breakfast, go to work, come home, eat dinner, go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

Of course, she had her job at Torchwood now as well as two loving parents and an adorable little brother who thought she was the center of the universe. She wasn't in short supply of friends either, her team at Torchwood inviting her out every weekend for drinks or a game night. Beans on toast and the Powell Estate had turned into scrumptious meals and a lavish mansion- courtesy of her father (or rather, step _-_ father). Still, it just didn't seem like enough. Rose didn't want to be ungrateful, but this life paled in comparison to her old one among the stars.

"Penny for 'em?" A familiar voice interrupted her melancholy and she gave a startled squeak, not expecting anyone else to be up at this hour. She was thankful she was no longer holding the glass, else she might have dropped it.

Hazel eyes met chocolate brown and for a moment Rose could almost pretend this was _her_ Doctor, but she looked away to focus on something- anything- else. This wasn't her Doctor, this was just his duplicate, his _human_ duplicate. She picked at her nails anxiously as her gaze decidedly settled on the fruit bowl. "Just woke up and came down to get a glass of water," she told him, fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of her gown.

"Oh, it's just… you looked awfully lost in thought there, thought maybe you'd like to talk," he offered, moving to get his own glass of water. That was just another thing setting this Doctor apart from her Doctor, her Doctor never seemed to want to just talk. He had avoided deep conversations and feelings like the plague, dodging them and using too-wide smiles and incessant rambling as distraction.

"I'm just tired," she lied smoothly, feeling much like her Doctor in that moment. She didn't want to have deep and meaningfuls with this Metacrisis, too afraid that she would get far too attached- and the heartbreak would be too much when he eventually left her too. And he would. He might not have been her Doctor exactly, but like the original this Metacrisis would grow bored of this silly, mundane life. He would grow bored of _her_.

"Alright then, if you say so." Gods, why did he have to act like he cared? She wanted so desperately to open up to him, to tell him all about her dreams and her feelings and fears, and be enveloped in those long, strong arms. But she didn't. Because she couldn't allow herself to, and he was probably only pretending to care about her out of some sense of duty. Of course, he had whispered those three words she longed to hear back on the beach. He had told her how that sentence was going to end and they'd snogged each other almost senseless… but did he really love her? They were practically strangers. It just simply couldn't be possible that whatever her Doctor felt for her- which couldn't be that strong if he left her, she thought to herself bitterly- could be transferred over into this human duplicate, one that was technically part Donna.

It took her a moment to realise he was watching her, staring at her thoughtfully over his glass as he sipped his water. Her eyes betrayed her for a moment, taking in the sight of him in striped pajamas that didn't quite fit (they were borrowed from Pete) and his hair deliciously dishevelled from sleep. Gods, he was gorgeous. Every bit identical to the real Doctor and every bit as sexy. A good kisser too. If she had any less self control she would-

 _Stop it_ , she thought firmly. Better to end that train of thought right there. "Is there something on my face?"

"Oh, no," he responded, tearing his eyes away, "no, I just… sorry, I must still be tired or something. It's odd, trying to get used to being human, you lot need so much rest."

Rose didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed at the 'you lot' comment, as if he weren't one of her 'lot' now. He had the grace to look sheepish at least, as if he realised what he had said and how it might be considered a tad rude. _Rude and not ginger_ , her brain supplied, and she crankily told it to shut up. She didn't need these random feelings of affection messing her about.

"Need to eat every day too. And shower regularly, brush your teeth daily… it's all new to me after living with superior Time Lord biology for the past nine hundred odd years," he continued, filling the silence. Another thing he had in common with the Doctor, he liked talking. Never seemed to stop if you gave him the chance. "Course I'm still a little bit Gallifreyan, don't quite need the eight hours most humans do and my senses are still top notch, but this whole one heart business and lack of respiratory bypass is just so strange. I don't know how humans do it."

Rose felt a little stab of pity for him. Technically being human was all this version of the Doctor had ever been, but if it was true that he had all the original Doctor's memories of course he would find being human a little out of the ordinary. He had been forced into existence, and then abandoned here just like her. "We've had all our lives to practice I guess."

The Metacrisis gave a small amused huff at that, accompanied by one of those handsome smiles. Instead of putting butterflies in her stomach, that smile only made her heart ache. "Yeah I guess you have. You'll just have to teach me I suppose."

She didn't know what to say to respond to that, wanting to refuse but at the same time not wanting to hurt his feelings. No matter how angry she was with the Doctor, his duplicate didn't deserve to be treated poorly. The silence between them became awkward, the tension almost thick enough to cut with a knife, and the Metacrisis rubbed at the back of his neck.

"I should um… I should probably get back to bed, I've got a day out with Tony and mum tomorrow so…" Rose told him, looking for any excuse to remove herself from the awkward situation. She wasn't lying about going out with her mum and little brother, but she knew she definitely wouldn't be going to sleep any time soon.

"Right, yeah," he responded, clearing his throat slightly, "me too. Sweet dreams, Rose."

"Night," Rose said quickly, escaping the kitchen and the one person in the house she wanted to avoid. He just reminded her too much of the Doctor. Heading back up the stairs, she entered her room and closed the door behind her. She leaned back against it and closed her eyes, taking in deep, calming breaths.

No matter how much her heart wanted to allow her to get closer to him, she couldn't let that happen.

Notes:

Hoooo boy, I haven't written a fanfic in years but a plot bunny struck me and it just wouldn't go away. Hopefully as this story goes along I can get into the flow of writing better and the quality improves (let's be honest, I am far from a professional writer). Having said that, I've fallen badly out of practice and so you'll have to forgive my errors. I currently don't have a beta or proof-reader of any kind and I'm quite thick when it comes to spotting mistakes… hooray!

If the formatting is a bit confusing I apologise and will take on board tips to make it easier to read. Any first-person sentences in italics are thoughts, and any stray words in italics are just me putting emphasis on the word.

This story is going to be a bit of a slow burn. I like taking time to develop character relationships so that in the end they feel much stronger, rather than just rushing head first into senseless fluff (although who doesn't love a bit of senseless fluff? ;) ).

Reviews are appreciated! I value what other people think and I also take on board prompts and suggestions although I do have most of this fic already planned out. I don't know how regular updates will be considering I'm a writing procrastinator and I'm currently in university, although my break is soon so I'll have more time to write then.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It was five in the morning when next the Doctor awoke. He rolled onto his back and stretched, yawning widely as he did so. As his brain caught up to him his thoughts immediately went to the conversation he'd had in the kitchen with Rose- if it could be called that- and he frowned. She had seemed so uncomfortable around him, and acted as though talking to him was an inconvenience. It was so very different from the way they used to be and he wasn't going to lie, it hurt. A lot.

Sighing, the Doctor drew back the covers and got out of bed to get ready for the day. He slipped out of his borrowed pajamas and headed into the attached bathroom. The thought crossed his mind that it was a good thing every room had its own bathroom, which was convenient and prevented embarrassing walk-ins. Running the shower to his preferred temperature he climbed in and allowed his thoughts to drift away, simply enjoying the comfort the hot water brang as it ran down his body.

After shutting off the water five minutes and twenty-seven seconds later (good thing his time sense was still working), he wrapped a towel around his thin waist and, on the way past the mirror, caught sight of the stubble growing across his jaw. He ran a hand over it, feeling the bristly texture beneath his fingers and hoping that maybe Pete would have a spare razor he could borrow. It had been a week since he had been left here in this alternate world with Rose and he had been living off of borrowed items, not having any money of his own to go and purchase anything. While it made him feel like a nuisance, he was incredibly grateful that Pete didn't seem to mind.

Drying off quickly, he changed into the shirt and blue suit that he'd worn that day on the beach. He liked to wear his own clothes whenever he could get away with it due to everything else not quite fitting, but of course they had to be washed every now and again and he received some odd looks if he wore the same thing more than two days in a row. It was now half past five and judging by the growls his empty stomach unleashed it was time to go and find some breakfast. With another reflexive yawn the Doctor left his room and headed downstairs. He settled for a couple of bananas, not wanting to risk waking anyone else up by cooking (attempting to might be a better use of words) or rummaging through the cupboards.

As he munched on a banana his thoughts drifted to the piece of coral he kept in the closet of his bedroom. The other Doctor had given it to him before his departure, and with some calculations from Donna he could have a fully grown, completely functional T.A.R.D.I.S. within a matter of a few years. Currently the infant T.A.R.D.I.S. was growing in a small pot, barely bigger than his fist, but with a bit of luck and ingenuity it should show signs of development in the coming months. He hadn't told Rose that he had begun to grow a T.A.R.D.I.S., and she seemed to have forgotten about the coral, so he had decided he would not say anything until he knew everything was on the right track. He didn't want to give her false hope.

It was around six AM when the first of the mansion's other occupants stirred. Pete came into the kitchen and greeted the Doctor with a tired smile before going about making some tea. He offered the Doctor a mug, which he gratefully accepted.

"I've been thinking Doctor," Pete spoke after a while of comfortable silence. He took a sip from his tea, glancing up from the newspaper he had been reading.

"About?" The Doctor prompted, sipping from his own mug and relishing in the hot and refreshing liquid, made strong with an unhealthy amount of sugar.

"You know you can stay here for as long as you'd like, we all enjoy having you around," Pete began. Oh no. Where was this going? "But you're human now, and as a permanent resident of Earth perhaps you should start considering making a new identity and taking on a job. It'll be hard for you to live here if you don't exist according to records, but lucky for you I can help you with that. There's also a position at Torchwood open that I think you'd fit into nicely."

Work for Torchwood? At first the idea left a sour taste in his mouth, but then he reminded himself that this world's Torchwood was different and Pete was its director. Rose worked there too, as did Jake, and if Rose could work there then perhaps it wasn't so bad. As for the new identity, he supposed it made sense. He had to blend in now, and any ordinary human wouldn't go by just 'The Doctor'. "So I have to pick a new name for myself, then?"

Pete gave a nod and the Doctor added jokingly, "And I suppose 'Doctor' isn't going to cut it?"

"'Fraid not," Pete responded with an amused grin.

"And this job at Torchwood, what is it exactly?" The Doctor questioned, watching the steam rise off of his tea.

"You'll sort of be like an alien tech expert as well as a field agent whenever we need you to," Pete told him, "thought that might be appropriate for someone of your intellect. You have centuries of experience over the rest of us."

The Doctor preened a little inwardly at the praise. "Can I have a day to think about all this?"

Pete gave a nod. "Of course."

DWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDWDW

Rose was silently grateful that _he_ wasn't around when she came downstairs after getting ready to go out with her mum and Tony. She figured he was probably up in his room or out and about exploring, either way she was glad she wasn't going to be pulled into another awkward conversation. It was currently nine AM and her father had already gone into work, so while Jackie showered and got ready, Rose prepared Tony for the day and made him some breakfast. Currently the four-year-old boy was shoving spoonfuls of cereal into his face while playing with his plastic dinosaurs. Jackie normally frowned upon dinosaurs at the table, but Rose thought it was cute and Tony seemed to love those toys more than anything else he owned.

"Raaaargh!" Tony growled, slamming a triceratops figure down onto a brontosaurus. Like any young boy he seemed to enjoy pretending his toys fought, even if the match-up didn't always make sense, and Rose giggled lightly. "Hurry up and finish your breakfast before mum catches you with toys at the table," she told him, ruffling his hair affectionately.

"Okay Rosie!" Enthusiastically he wolfed down the rest of his cereal and allowed Rose to wipe his face before taking his dinosaurs and running into the lounge room. Just in time too, as Jackie came down the stairs tying up her hair. "How's my little dinosaur man?" She asked, planting a big kiss on Tony's cheek and causing the boy to giggle.

"Good!" He held up a tyrannosaurus figure. "Rexy wants a kiss too, mummy."

"He does, does he?" Jackie said with a smile, indulging her son and planting a kiss on the t-rex as well. Rose stifled a laugh at this as she ate her own breakfast, pausing to greet her mother with a kiss on the cheek as she entered the kitchen. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Thought we might take Tony to the park since the weather's been a bit better lately," Jackie replied, fixing herself some toast and tea. Rose nodded and after they'd finished eating they all grabbed their shoes and coats and headed out for the day. The walk to the park was pleasant. There was still a bit of a chill on the air but the sun was out and the sky was clear. Rose walked side-by-side with Jackie while Tony ran on ahead, stopping every now and again to inspect anything that caught his eye. When they arrived at the park Tony enthusiastically bolted for the playground, while Rose and her mother sat on a park bench and watched.

"So what's up with you an' him?" Jackie asked out of the blue after a comfortable silence. Rose fought back a wince and glanced sideways at her mother before looking back at Tony who was making friends with other kids his age on the playground. What could she tell her mother to get her off this topic quickly?

"Dunno what you mean," Rose replied with a shrug. Jackie fixed her with a stern look and raised a brow. "Oh don't you give me that," she scolded, and no matter how old Rose got that motherly tone still managed to make her feel at least five years old, "you were practically joined at the hip not too long ago, what changed?"

 _He did_. "Mum, he's not the same Doctor that I travelled with."

"Sure looks like 'im," Jackie responded with a snort, looking back toward the playground briefly to make sure Tony was still within sight before looking back at her daughter.

"But he's not, mum, he's…" Rose sighed, "he's just a copy. The real Doctor is back in our original universe."

"Didn't this one say he had all the same memories an' thoughts though?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make him the same man," Rose argued, though part of her desperately wanted to believe he was.

Jackie looked at her thoughtfully, and then took one of her hands in one of her own, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "Don't you think maybe you're overthinking it? At the very least you should try and be friends with 'im again, you were so miserable all those years without 'im."

"Oi," Rose protested weakly, knowing full well how much of a sad sack she'd been. Still, could she find it in herself to allow a friendship with this Doctor? "If he's so much like the original he'll leave too eventually, so what's the point?"

Jackie frowned slightly. "I don't think you give 'im enough credit, it's obvious he's absolutely smitten with you. Never really liked 'im back when he was all ears an' leather but now he seems like a decent bloke."

Rose was silent for a moment before replying. "We'll see."

 **Notes:**

I know the chapters are a little bit short at the moment, but hopefully they should start to get longer as I find my footing in the writing department. Chapter Three shouldn't be too far off, I've already started it and I have the plan laid out for it. Originally I was going to have the Doctor and Pete's chat be one chapter and then Rose and Jackie's outing as a separate chapter, but then I decided to combine the two as I doubt I would have found a way to make either one long enough without going on an on about unnecessary stuff.

Next chapter is going to be a bit lighter with some cuteness, I don't have it in me to write drama and angst all the time. As always I appreciate feedback.


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